JPH10267860A - Foreign object inspecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store and manage characteristics of shapes of defects, etc., by recording a description related to a visual inspection by a visual inspection means in correspondence to positional information of foreign objects detected by a foreign object inspection means. SOLUTION: The foreign object inspecting apparatus includes a reticle carry part 103 for carrying in reticles, a reticle transfer means 105 for transferring reticles to each inspection part or a reticle discharge part 104, a foreign object inspection part 101, a visual inspection part 102 and a total control part 106. Inspected reticles accommodated in a reticle case are arranged in the reticle carry part 103. The reticle transfer means 105 has a transfer means, e.g. belt or the like for taking out reticles from the reticle case, and sends the reticles to the foreign object inspection part 101 and visual inspection part 102. The visual inspection part 102 is equipped with an optical microscope. An obtained image is converted by a CCD camera to an electric signal and displayed as an image at an ITV monitor. The reticle inspection part 104 selects reticles that can be used and cannot be used, and sets the reticles at a predetermined place.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foreign matter inspection apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for detecting foreign matter adhering to a reticle or the like when manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit and identifying the foreign matter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit, a circuit pattern of a reticle (hereinafter, referred to as a reticle) is exposed and transferred to a substrate coated with a photosensitive agent at a photomask. In the process of manufacturing such a semiconductor integrated circuit, if the foreign matter adheres to the circuit pattern of the reticle and is burned on the substrate in a state where the foreign matter remains on the circuit pattern, a portion of the manufactured semiconductor integrated circuit where the foreign matter has adhered becomes a defect. Will appear. Therefore, in the process of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit, the position and the size of the foreign matter attached to the diploma on which the circuit pattern of the reticle is formed are detected by the foreign matter inspection device, and the cause of the defect when exposing the operator is reduced. It was necessary to remove such foreign matter.

For this reason, the foreign material eaves bar value is classified into three ranks of A rank (small), B rank (medium), and C rank (large) according to the size of the foreign material, and the position and size of the classified foreign material. This is displayed on a map on a grid divided into predetermined blocks and projected on a monitor screen. Then, the user checks the position where the defect such as a foreign substance exists by looking at the screen of the monitor, and visually inspects the foreign substance using an optical microscope or the like. Then, based on the result of the visual inspection, it is determined whether or not to use the finally inspected reticle.

[0004]

By the way, even if foreign matter is detected when the reticle is inspected by the foreign matter inspection device, the reticle is not necessarily unusable.
This is because it is not clear whether the detected foreign matter or the like has an effect upon exposure when it is actually used. Therefore, finally, it is necessary to determine whether or not the detected foreign matter can be used by visual inspection. As described above, the inspection result at the time of the visual inspection becomes important. For example, when a defect occurs in a semiconductor integrated circuit exposed using a reticle that has been inspected, it is necessary to refer to the inspection result when investigating a factor that caused the defect.

In addition, when a foreign substance is inspected again using a reticle that has been inspected once, the same inspection result as the previous one is often output. In such a case, it is necessary to refer to the result of the visual inspection at the time of the previous inspection. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to output an inspection result obtained at the time of a visual inspection.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an object to be inspected is irradiated with light, and light coming from the object is received by a photoelectric conversion element. Foreign matter inspection means for detecting foreign matter present on the surface of the inspection object and detecting the position of the foreign matter, storage means for storing position information on the presence of foreign matter output from the foreign matter inspection means, and visual inspection for visually inspecting the foreign matter Means, and comment storage means for recording a description of the visual inspection by the visual inspection means in association with the position information of the foreign substance detected by the foreign substance inspection means.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the description relating to the visual inspection is stored in the comment storage means corresponding to the position of the foreign substance obtained from the foreign substance inspection means. Further, in the second embodiment of the present invention, further, position information on the presence of the foreign matter stored in at least the storage unit and the comment storage unit;
Display means for displaying a description about the visual inspection.
As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the position information of the foreign substance stored in the storage unit and the description regarding the visual inspection stored in the comment storage unit are displayed on the display unit.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the comment storage unit records the inspection contents or the inspection result of the visual inspection by the visual inspection unit. As described above, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the judgment made during the visual inspection or the result based on the visual inspection is stored in the comment storage unit. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the inspection content or the inspection result of the visual inspection is the state of the defect visually inspected by the visual inspection means or the content of the user's judgment at the time of the visual inspection.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage means stores information on the size of the foreign matter from the signal from the photoelectric conversion element of the foreign matter inspection means in association with the position information of the foreign matter. did. In a sixth embodiment of the present invention,
Further, in the display means, the position information and size information of the foreign matter stored in the storage means and the description on the visual inspection stored in the comment storage means are displayed in association with each other.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the foreign matter inspection means inspects the object to be inspected on a reticle or a photomask provided with a pellicle film on at least one surface, and inspects the pellicle film, the reticle or the photomask. Foreign matter inspection means for separately detecting foreign matter on one surface and the other surface, and the defect position information is information on either one of the pellicle film, reticle or photomask surface or the other surface, and the defect information. It was decided to be coordinate information. With respect to the reticle or photomask in which the pellicle film is also eaten in this way, the respective surfaces of the reticle or photomask and the pellicle film are respectively inspected for the presence or absence of foreign matter by foreign matter inspection means, and the obtained foreign matter position information includes And whether the foreign matter is on the reticle or photomask surface or on the pellicle film.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the position information of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter inspection means indicates an area where a plurality of foreign matters are present, and the comment storage means stores the position information indicated by the position information. The description about a plurality of foreign substances existing in the region to be stored is stored. As described above, a plurality of foreign substances are put together and one comment is added.

[0012]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a foreign matter inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a reticle carry-in unit 103 for carrying in a reticle, a reticle transport unit 105 for carrying a reticle to each inspection unit or reticle carry-out unit 104, a foreign matter inspection unit 101, and a visual inspection unit. 102, a reticle unloading unit 104, and an overall control unit 106.

In the reticle carry-in section 103, a reticle to be inspected is placed in a state accommodated in a reticle case. Further, the reticle transport means 105 is provided.
Conveying means such as a belt for taking out a reticle from a reticle case arranged in the reticle carry-in section 103;
It is configured by a transport unit that inputs a reticle to the foreign substance inspection unit 101 or the visual inspection unit 102.

The foreign matter inspection section 101 is an apparatus for optically inspecting the reticle carried by the reticle transport means 103 for the presence or absence of foreign matter, and will be described in detail later. The reticle in which foreign matter and the like are confirmed by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 is transported again to the visual inspection unit 102 by the reticle transportation unit 105. By the way, the visual inspection unit 1
02 has the configuration shown in FIG. The visual inspection unit 102 is provided with an optical microscope 201, and an image obtained by the optical microscope 201 is converted into an electric signal by a CCD camera 202. The image of the optical microscope 201 converted into the electric signal is displayed on the ITV monitor 203 as an image.
The user is within the visual field of the optical microscope of the visual inspection unit 102,
The reticle is moved so that the detection position of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 enters, and the reticle is visually observed on the ITV monitor 203.

The visual inspection unit 102 has a stage 2 on which a reticle subjected to foreign matter inspection by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 is mounted.
04. This stage 204 can be moved by stage driving means 205. The stage drive unit 205 is controlled by a stage drive control unit 206, and the stage control unit 206 receives the position table information of the foreign matter output from the overall control unit 106. Therefore, the stage driving unit 205 is controlled based on the coordinate information of the foreign matter input to the overall control unit 106.

Next, the reticle unloading section 104 will be described. The reticle unloading section 104 is provided with a stocker for selecting a usable reticle and an unusable reticle and mounting the reticle at a predetermined location. The reticle whose inspection has been completed is finally stored in the reticle unloading section 104. As shown in FIG. 1, the reticle carry-out section 104 stores a usable reticle and an unusable reticle in the same stocker.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a usable reticle and an unusable reticle may be stored in separate stockers. By storing the usable reticle and the unusable reticle in different stockers, it is possible to prevent the use of the usable reticle and the unusable reticle by mistake. by the way,
The foreign substance inspection unit 101 has a configuration as shown in FIG.
The foreign substance inspection unit 101 will be described with reference to FIG. In the foreign matter inspection unit 101, a reticle 2 as an inspection object is mounted on a uniaxial stage 3 movable in the Y-axis direction.

In this state, when inspecting the surface of the reticle 2 for foreign matter, first, the driving unit 4A is operated to set the switching mirror 5 at a position where laser light passes as shown by a broken line in the figure. After setting as described above, when the laser light is output from the light source 6, the laser light is applied to the surface of the reticle 2 via the scanner mirror 7, the condenser lens 8, the switching mirror 5 and the mirror 9 in this order. At this time, when the drive unit 4B is operated to change the angle of the scanner mirror 7, the laser spot moves on the surface of the reticle 2 along the X-axis fragrance. When the drive unit 4C is operated to move the uniaxial stage 3 along the Y-axis direction, the laser spot moves on the surface of the reticle 2 along the Y-axis direction.

The foreign matter inspection section 101 moves the laser spot in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by operating the scanner mirror 7 and the uniaxial stage 3 as described above, and scans the entire surface of the reticle 2 with laser light. When the surface of the reticle 2 is scanned with the laser light in this way, if a foreign substance or the like exists on the surface of the reticle 2, the laser light is irregularly reflected by the foreign substance.
Therefore, the presence of the foreign matter can be detected by detecting the scattered light. For this reason, a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10E are arranged in the foreign matter inspection unit 101 at positions where scattered light can be detected.

When the photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10E receive light, they output electric signals SA to SE corresponding to the light intensity. These electric signals SA to SE are input to the foreign substance inspection control unit 11, respectively. The foreign substance inspection control unit 11 determines whether or not a foreign substance exists by analyzing the electric signals SA to SE. For example, when scattered light is generated by a foreign substance, omnidirectional scattered light is generated. Therefore, all the photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10E receive the scattered light and output electric signals SA to SE. Therefore, the foreign matter inspection control unit 11 receives all the electric signals SA to SE,
Detects the presence of foreign matter. At this time, since the values of the electric signals SA to SE differ depending on the size of the foreign matter, the size of the foreign matter itself is detected by analyzing the values.

Further, the foreign substance inspection control section 11 controls the control signal CA.
, CB, and CC, respectively, and outputs the driving units 4A, 4A,
B and 4C are controlled, so that the laser beam
Knows where to irradiate. With such a mechanism, when detecting the scattered light, the foreign substance inspection control unit 11 can also detect the position of the foreign substance itself based on the irradiation position of the laser light.

In the case of inspecting the back surface of the reticle 2 for foreign matter, the driving unit 4A is operated to move the switching mirror 5 to a position where the laser beam does not pass and is not irradiated. The switching mirror 5 is moved to a position where no switching is performed. As a result, the laser light output from the light source 6 is
The light is irradiated on the back surface of the reticle 2 via the condenser lens 8 and the mirror 15 in this order. At this time, by changing the angle of the scanner mirror 7 in the same manner and moving the reticle 2 along the Y-axis direction, the entire back surface of the reticle 2 is scanned by the laser spot. Thereby, the scattered light generated by the foreign matter is converted into a photoelectric conversion element (not shown) for the back side.
The electrical signal obtained as a result is analyzed by the foreign matter inspection control unit 11.

As described above, the foreign substance inspection unit 101 performs the same foreign substance inspection on the back surface of the reticle 2 and stores the inspection result in the memory 12 in the overall control unit 106. Incidentally, the overall control unit 106 has a configuration shown in FIG. The overall control unit 106 controls the entire foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
1 and a memory 12 for storing foreign matter position information and foreign matter size information obtained from the foreign matter inspection control unit 11.
have.

Further, information input means 42 for inputting a comment to be input by a user at the time of visual inspection, position information of defects, defect size information stored in memory 12, and reticle name , A display 43 for displaying a reticle size, etc., and an input screen for inputting a comment.
Foreign matter position information, foreign matter size information,
An external storage means 44 for outputting information such as a reticle name, a reticle size, and a comment input by a user to a magnetic recording medium or the like.

The control section 41 can exchange signals with the reticle transport section 105, the visual inspection section 102, the stage drive control section 206, and the foreign substance inspection control section 11. When the reticle placed on the reticle stocker is further taken out, the control unit 41 performs location management of the reticle placed on the reticle stocker in accordance with the place placed on the reticle stocker.

Next, the operation of the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. In the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, in step S001, first, a reticle is placed at a predetermined position of the reticle stocker of the reticle carry-in section 103. Then, data relating to the reticle to be inspected is input from the information input means 42. Information such as a reticle name and a reticle size to be inspected in step S001 is input. At this time, the control unit 41 secures an area in the memory 12 for storing position information and size information, comments, inspection conditions (sensitivity conditions and the like in the foreign substance inspection unit 101) of foreign substances to be input in the future.

When data is input from the information input means 42, data is input corresponding to the location of the reticle stocker on which the reticle is placed. by the way,
The location management of the reticle loaded into the reticle loading section 103 will be performed by the control section 41 in the future. Reticle loading unit 1
The reticle stocker of 03 has a predetermined number, so in the future, the number of the reticle stocker when placed on that reticle stocker will be used.
Manage reticles.

The information such as the reticle name and the reticle size input to the overall control unit 106 is input to the memory 12 via the control unit 41. In this step S001, the user inputs the data of the reticle to be inspected, but other embodiments may be used. For example, an external computer overall control unit 106 in which data relating to the reticle is stored may be connected, and data relating to the reticle may be imported into the overall control unit 106 from an external computer.

Next, in step S002, the general control unit 10
The control unit 41 outputs a signal for taking out the reticle from the reticle loading unit 103 to the reticle transport unit 105.
Then, the reticle to be inspected is taken out by the reticle transport unit 105. Next, in step S003, the reticle is transported by the
Carry in 1. Then, in step S004, the control unit 41
Outputs an inspection start command to the foreign matter inspection control unit 11 to operate the foreign matter inspection unit 101 to inspect whether or not foreign matter exists on the reticle. The inspection by the foreign substance inspection unit 101
The front and back sides of the reticle are performed as described above.

When the entire inspection area has been inspected (step S004), it is determined in step S005 whether or not a foreign substance has been detected. Then, when there is no foreign matter, the control section 41 outputs a signal to the reticle transport section 105 to carry out the reticle to the reticle carry-out section 104. Then, the reticle on which the foreign substance inspection has been completed by the reticle transport unit 105 is transported to a usable reticle storage location of the reticle unloading unit 104 (step S006).

When a foreign substance is present in the reticle conveyed to the foreign substance inspection unit 101, information relating to the position of the foreign substance and the size of the foreign substance is stored in the memory 12 from a signal obtained during the foreign substance inspection. (Step S0
07). Actually, the control unit 41 stores the foreign matter position information and the foreign matter size information in the memory 12 in association with each other. The position information of the foreign matter is information including information on the front surface or the back surface of the reticle. At this time, the control unit 4 associates the foreign substance position information with the foreign substance size information.
1 is output.

Next, the process goes to step SO08.
In this process, the control unit 41 sends the reticle inspected by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 to the reticle transport unit 105 by the visual inspection device 10.
2 to output a signal to be conveyed. Then, the reticle transport section 105 transports the reticle inspected by the foreign substance inspection section 101 to the visual inspection section 102. Visual inspection unit 102
Transported to the stage 204 of the visual inspection unit
After being positioned in advance. Then, the control unit 41 transmits the position information of the defect to the stage driving unit control unit 206.

Next, in step S009, it is determined whether or not the reticle, which has just been inspected, has been subjected to a foreign substance inspection on this reticle. Since the reticle names inspected so far are stored in the external storage means 44, the control section 41 determines whether or not data having the same reticle name is stored therein. If there is no data, the process of step S010 is performed, and if there is, the process of S071 in FIG. 7 is performed.

First, the case where there is no data will be described. In the step in step S010, the stage driving unit control unit 206 of the visual inspection apparatus drives the stage driving unit 205 to move the stage 204 so that the detection position of the foreign substance falls within the visual field of the optical microscope 201. Since the image of the optical microscope 201 is displayed on the ITV monitor 203, the user looks at the image displayed on the ITV monitor 203 and determines whether or not the image can be used.

Then, the user inputs the result of the determination as to whether or not it is usable and the comment by the information input means 42 to the controller 41.
(Step S011). At this time, a screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the display 43. Then, the user inputs a comment in a predetermined comment entry field 81 of this display as needed. In this way, the user's comment can be input.
In addition, since the display asking whether or not it is available is displayed on another screen of the display 43, the user inputs whether or not it is available in a predetermined input field (not shown) of the screen. It should be noted that, even if it is not particularly input that the use is possible, the same result may be obtained by instructing the observation of the next foreign substance, that is, inputting that the use is possible.

The input judgment result and the comment are associated with the foreign substance position information stored in step S012, and the memory 12 and the external storage means 44
To be memorized. Next, in step S013, it is determined based on the result of the visual inspection input in step S011 whether or not it is determined that it can be used.

If it is determined by the visual inspection that the reticle cannot be used, the control unit 41 outputs a signal for transporting the visually inspected reticle to the reticle unloading unit 104 to the reticle transport unit 105 (step S016). The reticle visually inspected by the reticle transport unit 105 is transported and stored in the reticle unloading unit 104. When it is determined that the foreign matter can be used in the visual inspection, the control unit 41 determines whether all the foreign substances stored in the memory 12 have been visually observed. At this time, if the visual observation has not been completed for all the foreign substances, the process returns to step S010 again, and the process returns to step S010 until the visual observation for all the foreign substances is completed.
From step SO14 are repeated.

Then, in step S014, the control unit 41
If it is determined that all the foreign substances stored in the memory 12 have been visually observed, the reticle is determined to be a usable reticle, and the control unit 41 sends the visually inspected reticle to the reticle unloading unit 104. Outputs the signal to be conveyed. Then, the reticle that has been visually inspected is stored in the reticle unloading section 104.

In this manner, the reticle to be inspected for the first time is completed in this manner. Next, a case where a reticle that has been inspected before is inspected will be described. In the case of a reticle that has been inspected before, in step S071, the control unit 41 reads out the inspection data performed last time from the external storage unit 44, and reads the inspection data performed by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 this time (hereinafter, this time). Inspection data) is compared with the previous inspection data. If there is a foreign substance in the same place between the previous inspection and the current inspection, the previous inspection data and the current inspection data are associated with each other, and the position where the foreign substance is found in the current inspection is optically determined. The stage driving means 204 is operated so as to be within the field of view of the microscope 201.

Next, the control section 41 determines whether or not the previous data corresponding to the foreign matter currently being visually inspected has been stored in the external storage means 44. At this time, if there is previous data corresponding to the foreign substance being visually inspected, step S
In step 073, the previous inspection data corresponding to the foreign matter being visually inspected is displayed on the display 43. FIG. 9 shows an example of the display. The display shown in FIG. 9 includes a reticle name display area 91, a reticle size display area 92, an inspection execution date and time display area 93, a foreign substance position display area 94, a foreign substance size information display area 95, a comment display area 96, and an inspection result. This is a comment display area 97. In this way,
Display comments to the user about the last test performed. The user performs a visual inspection while watching this display (S0
75). In step S076, if the user needs to rewrite the comment as a result of the visual inspection, the user inputs the comment on the display screen shown in FIG. Then, the inspection result is also input via the information input means 42.

If there is no previous data corresponding to the foreign substance visually inspected in step S072, the process in step S073 is skipped and step S074 is immediately performed.
Enter the visual inspection process. Next, in step S076, the result of the visual inspection is stored in the memory 12 in association with the input comment or the inspection result and the position information of the foreign matter.

As described above, after the visual inspection result is input, the control section 41 determines whether or not the visual inspection has been enabled in step S077. If it is determined that the reticle cannot be used, the control unit 41 outputs a signal to the reticle transport unit 105 to carry out the visually inspected reticle to the reticle carry-out unit 104 in step S080. Then, reticle transport section 105 transports the reticle to reticle unloading section 104. If it is determined that the reticle can be used, the control unit 41 determines whether or not all the foreign substances detected in the current foreign substance inspection have been visually inspected in step S078. If it is determined that all the foreign substances have not been visually inspected, the process returns to step S0.
Returning to step 71, the operations from step S071 to step S078 are repeated for the foreign substance to be visually observed next.

Then, after visually inspecting all the foreign substances detected in the foreign substance inspection this time, the control section 41 sends the visually inspected reticle to the reticle unloading section 1 in the reticle transport section 105.
The signal to be conveyed to the output unit 04 is output. Then, step S0
At 79, the reticle is transported to the reticle unloading section 104 by the reticle transport section 105. In this way,
A series of reticle inspections is completed.

As described above, in the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, when a defect detected by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 is visually inspected, what is detected by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 depends on what is detected. Can be recorded. For example,
What is actually detected is due to noise, correction marks generated when the circuit pattern formed on the reticle is corrected, power and peeling of the circuit pattern formed on the reticle, and the circuit pattern of the reticle. Defects and the like that are formed are detected. Such a difference is caused by the foreign substance inspection unit 1
01 and cannot be determined, and are actually found at the time of visual inspection.

In the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the comment can be recorded in association with the positional information of the foreign matter, so that the characteristics of the foreign matter can be stored and managed. Further, in this foreign matter inspection apparatus, the result of the previously performed inspection can be displayed when the inspection is performed again. In this way, if the result of the previous inspection remains, the user who performs the visual inspection can make a quick decision using the information, thereby leading to an improvement in throughput.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the information associated with the position information of the foreign matter is stored in association with the comment and information on the size of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 in addition to the comment. And display. If the detected foreign matter is a very small foreign matter, it may not affect the shadow at the time of exposure.
When determining whether a reticle can be used finally,
This is an important consideration. Therefore, it is very significant to store and display the information on the size of the foreign matter in association with the information.

Further, it is also possible to store and display the inspection conditions when the foreign substance inspection is performed by the foreign substance inspection section 101 in association with the inspection conditions. Inspection conditions are also matched,
If storage and display are performed, it is possible to give the user a high or low indication that the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter inspection unit 101 is likely to be a pseudo defect that is likely to occur when the detection sensitivity is increased. This has the effect of promptly prompting a judgment at the time of inspection.

In addition, this foreign matter inspection apparatus has the following effects in addition to the effects described above. When using a reticle determined to be usable in the visual inspection process with a reduction projection exposure machine and failing to form a circuit pattern on the wafer, comments on the visual inspection are important as a material to grasp the cause. Become. If a comment at the time of the visual inspection is recorded at that time, it can be used as a material for investigating the cause by referring to the comment when it is determined that it is usable. In addition, since the comment is recorded in correspondence with the position on the reticle, it is easy to determine at which part of the reticle the defect generated on the wafer may be caused.

The external storage means 44 may be a portable floppy disk or a magneto-optical disk. As described above, if the external storage unit 44 is a medium that is easy to carry, if the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention and the reduced projection exposure apparatus are located at different locations,
Attach the paper when the reticle is moved from the location of the foreign matter inspection device to the location of the reduction projection exposure device by attaching a paper printed out with the position information and size information of the defect and the comment given during the visual inspection. Torn paper can be very disturbing. However, the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can be downloaded to a portable floppy disk or a magneto-optical disk, so that such a problem can be solved.

The reticle used in the reduction projection exposure apparatus has a pellicle film 5 on a pattern surface 501 on which a circuit pattern of a reticle 500 is formed as shown in FIG.
Those provided with 03 are generally used. In the case of inspecting such a reticle, in the particle inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the glass surface 501, the pattern surface 502 on the back side thereof, and the pellicle film 503 are each inspected for defects by the particle inspection unit 101. When a defect is detected, it is necessary to perform a visual inspection.

In such a case, the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may display an input screen as shown in FIG. 11 when inputting a comment. In addition, the foreign substance inspection device according to the embodiment of the present invention attaches a comment to each foreign substance and stores and displays the comment. However, the present invention also includes a plurality of foreign substances,
It may be recognized as a foreign substance of one group, and a comment may be added to the entire group. To add a comment in this manner, the entire glass surface 501, the entire pattern surface 502,
One comment may be input to the entire pellicle film 503.

When inspecting a reticle in which a pellicle is also provided on the glass surface 501,
Similarly, a region for inputting a comment may be provided for the glass surface side vehicle. In addition, when the comment to be input is determined in advance, the comment to be input is displayed as a list on the input screen, and the user can input the comment dynamically by selecting the list. ,
Further, operability is improved.

[0053]

According to the present invention, by adding a comment at the time of a visual inspection according to the position information of a foreign substance or a defect, characteristics such as the shape of the defect can be stored and managed.
Further, when the foreign substance inspection is performed again, the information of the previously performed inspection can be obtained, so that it is possible to quickly determine whether or not use is possible during the visual inspection.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a foreign matter inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a foreign substance inspection unit of the foreign substance inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a visual inspection unit of the foreign substance inspection device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an overall control unit of the foreign substance inspection device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a foreign substance inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a flowchart of the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention (continuation of FIG. 5).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the foreign matter inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention (continuation of FIG. 5).

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a comment input screen displayed on the foreign substance inspection device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram when the previous inspection data displayed by the foreign substance inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is displayed.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a reticle with a pellicle.

11 is a view of a comment input screen displayed by the foreign substance inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is a display screen when the reticle with a pellicle of FIG. 10 is inspected.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Foreign matter inspection unit 2 ... reticle, 3 ... uniaxial stage, 4A to 4C ... drive unit, 5 ... switching mirror, 6 ... light source, 7 ... scanner mirror, 8 ... condenser lens, 9, 15 ... mirror, 10A
10 to 10E: light turtle conversion element, 11: foreign matter inspection control unit 102 visual inspection unit 201: optical microscope, 202: CCD camera, 203 ...
ITV monitor, 204 stage, 205 stage drive means, 206 stage drive control unit 103 reticle loading unit 104 reticle unloading unit 105 reticle transport unit 106 overall control unit 12 memory, 41 control unit, 42 information input unit 4
3 display, 44 external storage means 81 comment field 91 reticle name display area, 92 reticle size display area, 93 inspection date and time display area, 94 foreign matter position display area, 95 foreign matter size information display Area, 96: Comment display area, 97: Test result comment display area 501: Reticle, 502: Glass surface, 503: Pattern surface, 504: Glass surface input region, 505: Pattern surface input region, 506: Pellicle input region

Claims (8)

[Claims] An object to be inspected is irradiated with light, and light coming from the object to be inspected is received by a photoelectric conversion element, thereby detecting foreign matter present on the surface of the object to be inspected and detecting the position of the foreign matter. Foreign matter inspection means, storage means for storing position information of the presence of the foreign matter output from the foreign matter inspection means, visual inspection means for visually inspecting the foreign matter, and position of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter inspection means A foreign matter inspection device, comprising: comment storage means for recording a description of the visual inspection by the visual inspection means in association with information. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying position information of the foreign substance stored in at least the storage unit and the comment storage unit, and a description about the visual inspection. Item 1 foreign matter inspection device 3. The foreign matter inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comment storage unit records the inspection content or the inspection result of the visual inspection by the visual inspection unit. 4. The inspection content or inspection result of the visual inspection is a state of a defect visually inspected by the visual inspection means or a content of a user's judgment at the time of the visual inspection. Foreign matter inspection device 5. The storage unit according to claim 1, wherein information on a size of the foreign matter is stored in correspondence with position information of the foreign matter from a signal from a photoelectric conversion element of the foreign matter inspection unit. Foreign matter inspection device described 6. The display means further displays the position information of the foreign matter and the size information of the foreign matter stored in the storage means in association with the description relating to the visual inspection stored in the comment storage means. 6. The foreign matter inspection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein 7. The foreign matter inspection means, wherein the object to be inspected inspects a reticle or photomask provided with a pellicle film on at least one surface, and one surface and the other of the pellicle film, the reticle or photomask. Foreign matter inspection means for separately detecting foreign matter on the surface of the pellicle film, the position information of any one of the pellicle film, the reticle or the photomask, and the coordinates of the defect 2. The foreign matter inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter inspection information is information. 8. The position information of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter inspection means indicates an area where a plurality of foreign matters exist, and the comment storage means stores a plurality of foreign matters existing in the area indicated by the position information. 2. A foreign matter inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a description relating to the foreign matter is stored.